52 weeks 52 walks

Week 2 – Mitre Rock near Natimuk

Mitre just seen the best sun rise this year!

Where – Mitre Rock

Distance – elevation 230 metres but the climb was only about 50m

Time – less than an hour

In 10 words – Little gem, amazing rocks and awesome dawn views across landscape.

So we have made it to week 2. January 9 at 5.55am.

Was going to be Mt Zero but when my walking partner slept in, and then after I turned around to come back and pick her up, she managed to bring two left shoes – that were not even hers! – we settle for more accessible Mitre Rock.

It is going to be a scorcher and we want to get the walking done before the heat sets in.

Heading west out of Horsham and the car temp reads a chilly 9 degrees.

It’s called an inversion layer and it hovers eerily above the ground.

Just past the bridge at Quantong a thin layer of cloud rises just above the stubble and crops on our right and left.

We stop for a quick pic but we are on a mission to get to the rock – which is the poor cousin to Arapiles (Dyuritte) and looks like a priest’s mitre – before the sun comes up.

It’s a race and as we head up the rise at the turn off to the rock, I see the sun in the rear view mirror.

And just as I find a gap in the trees, the orange sunlight spikes its way over the horizon. It’s a big show of colour and might and she’s letting us know we are in for a scorcher.

The rock behind me also gets painted with a filter of burnt orange which is very impressive and worth the 5am wake up call.

The moment captured we drive around the corner to start our climb. It’s dark on this western side and cool but all around you can see the sun finding other places to brighten, lighten and wake up the landscape.

It is pretty easy going. More effort looking out for snakes in the dry grass either side of the sketchy track than it is scrambling over the rocks.

We head up towards the left and are impressed by the 720ha salty puddle of Mitre Lake that spreads out across the flats to the north. At mid summer the lake is more salt than water but there are still a few patches of trees and sky reflected on at one end so she is not completely dry.

Mitre Lake lays its salty surface bare across the plain

From the north western side of the rock you get some great views. The early morning sun picks up every shade and texture in the landscape. The receding waters of the lake, the trees and the teethmarks left by hungry harvesters as they chewed their way through this year’s crops.

It’s a moment of contrasts – dark where we stand on these shaded rocks but out in the open the shadows a big and distant metal silos simply shimmer.

It’s time to head to the eastern side and get the full burst of morning.

So a bit more scrambling and snake-avoidance and we are nearly there. This rock is full of life. There are many tiny correas bursting from a stony base and producing beautiful lime flowers. The birds also in full song – which is a bit surprising considering you are on a rock.

Textures and tones of a cropping landscape sunrise

Suddenly I hear something gin the bushes and stop dead. Nothing slithering my way but there are two eyes upon me from a wallaby propping in the scrub. They are good animals to live on a rock as they kind of behave like one. We embark on what can best be described as a game of bobs and statues. I sometimes wonder if Wallabies are secretly closing their eyes like a three year old and hoping that if I can see them, they won’t see me.

I respect his space and his grace and quietly and gently pass thanking him for sharing his space.

The wallaby and the stones stand perfectly still

I am nearly at the top and I see the light approaching. And what a light it is.

Rocks on ledges contrast with the floodlit paddocks below.

One amazing rock sits absurdly like a flower pot carefully placed for photo opportunities. Beyond Mitre itself is just a burst of beautiful soft light amidst a misty vista of the Gariwerd Grampians and Black Range State Park in the background with a sea trees littered across the cream paddocks. Just awesome.

Looking back to Gariwerd and the Black Ranges and a sea of trees between

And as we turn to head back down the rocks itself turns orange with the full throttle morning burst.

So in summary not a difficult climb but a bloody amazing one all the same. I mitre had a really good time.

Pumped by the adventure I take a detour on the way home to Vinegar Hill – A little-know lunette located down Vinegar Hill Lane off Arapiles Grass Flat Road. This hill overlooks Mitre Lake and it is a perfect location for sunsets.

Crop circles – Wimmera style with Arapiles or Dyuritte in the rear

Today I discover it is pretty amazing at dawn too. We get out best view of Arapiles or Dyuritte for the day, with well shaded crop circles of recently ploughed paddocks in the foreground and our rock bathed in sunlight to the rear.

This whole expedition has rocked.

Welcome to 52 weeks 52 walks

Most of these walks take place on the traditional lands of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk peoples. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present and thank them for allowing us to enjoy their wonderful country.

I hope you are ready for some adventure. Well pretty tame adventure but adventure none the less. When I embarked on this project we were all very tired of bingeing on Netflix movie/series and docos during the long 2020s lockdowns and we’d all gained the odd COVID kg too. So it was time to get outside and spread our wings. We could not fly overseas, or even go interstate on any given day so the only option was exploring our own back yard.

Each week I did a walk, sometimes I had others walking with me. It might be climbing a mountain, strolling by a river or even exploring a little-known reserve. I also spent some time heading back to my childhood stomping ground of the southwest and rediscovering old adventures.

I took heaps of pics, found a bit of background to give you some context and hopefully inspired readers to get off the couch and see the great places we have in Victoria’s west.

So no matter who you are, or when you are reading this – pull on your boots, open your eyes and your heart and come walking with me…………

WARNING – Most of these walks are on public land. It is illegal to trespass. Also respect that many of these places are on traditional land and you must tread softy and not tamper with or remove any items of cultural importance.

Please be safe by using sunscreen, and wearing hats, appropriate clothing and sensible shoes. These are not sealed tracks so watch your step. Also there are snakes in this environment so tread carefully, especially in summer and in long grass.

week 1 – A trek of two rivers

The start of the walk near the Bridge on Three Bridges Road near Horsham

Where – Mackenzie River (Bun-nah) Wimmera River ( Barringgi Gadyin or Barengi Djul) junction walk. From Mackenzie Creek Bridge, Three Bridges Road, to Weir Park.

Distance walking 8.2km

Time – a very leisurely 2 hours but you can do it a bit faster.

In less than 10 words – Peaceful, diverse, surprising, reflective and worthwhile two hour wander.

What better way to start our year-long adventure but with a short trek close to home.

On January 3 Bean and I wandered along two of the Wimmera’s most high-profile rivers, the Mackenzie or Bun-nah and the Wimmera or Barringgi Gadyin or Barengi DjulI.

Barengi DjulI or the Wimmera is the big daddy of the rivers and boasts plenty of grand old red gums and while Bun-nah might seem a bit of a poor cousin, but this thirsty little tributary is flowing with life, charm and spirit.

So let’ get walking. We start at the bridge parking on gravel on the left side of the road and cross over the right to start the track, heading north.

The gate to keep vehicles out is off its hinges and squashed on the track and the dirt road has it fair share of pot holes from past traffic in the wet.

The track follows Mackenzie River or Bun-nah, Referred locally as a Creek this river winds its way 57km from the northern end of the Grampians Gariewerd before joining the wimmera.

First week of January and it is pretty dry, although some summer rains have gifted us some black and foaming puddles and surprisingly healthy looking undergrowth. We pass quite a few flowers, which are more common in spring than summer.

The birds are also in fine form and the ornithological symphony is music to my ears. Not sure where 20-20 hearing, eternally-nervous Bean Dog sits on this issue especially as we have recently added early morning corellas choruses to his lists of hates/fears.

Kookaburra reckons its pretty funny even if the dog doesn’t.

Some really beautiful flowers and a pretty ugly puddle.

A wall of trees and shrubs hides the Mackenzie for much of the walk, until we reach a grassy patch dotted with large, old trees, many of which are sporting long oblong scars. I can’t find any written evidence that these were made by local Aboriginal people but I’d like to think I might be right.

Makes you wonder what it was like here more than 200 years ago. Who else walked this path and what happened under these trees? I want to step lightly as I pass

Just a few minutes further and we are at the Wimmera junction. With no water flow from Mackenzie and quite a few reeds you have to search to find the spot they connect.

Here I find another scar – made in recent years by modern day campers choosing to leave a different pointless mark.

The junction of the Mackenzie and Wimmera Rivers

I now follow the Wimmera River back towards Horsham. The trees are bigger and the river is wider and wetter. A few more of them appear to have scars, others expose their giant roots at the rivers edge or have been beaten by water, wind and time and lie awkwardly in the water. They too, would have plenty of stories to tell from the last few 100 years.

It’s a great walk right near town and while COVID has increased the number of feet that use this path, it never loses its beauty. IN the mornings there can be misty fog sitting over the water and on the right evenings at the right time of the year a wimmera sunset creates a little art work all its own with reflections in the wider stretches of water.